Bluum: A Gamified Rehabilitation App for Pediatric Patients
Overview:
Bluum, is a dual-interface mobile application designed to help children stay engaged during their inpatient physical rehabilitation stay. Kids create a personalized avatar using preselected names, then complete therapy tasks assigned by their therapists. As they check off completed tasks, they earn points to customize their avatar and digital space, turning rehabilitation into a more interactive and rewarding experience.
The system includes a companion desktop web application for therapists to add patients, create task lists, monitor progress, and verify completed activities, all without collecting protected health information.
The Challenge
The project began with a clear problem statement from our client, Ben Shrock, a PA-C at Riley Hospital’s rehabilitation unit. The rehabilitation unit needed a solution to keep young patients motivated during extended inpatient stays. My challenge as the lead designer was to:
- Design an engaging, accessible interface that appeals to children across different age groups and keeps them motivated through difficult or tedious rehabilitation tasks
- Create a separate staff portal that integrates seamlessly into existing workflows without adding burden to an already busy staff
- Develop original character illustrations that serve as the emotional core of the patient experience
- Design a cohesive system across both interfaces and translate concepts into developer-ready specifications
My Role & Approach
As the lead designer, I owned the end-to-end design process from initial concept to development handoff. Working directly with Riley Hospital coordinators, I conducted ongoing user research to understand both patient needs and staff pain points.
Key responsibilities included:
- Conducting interviews with therapists and user research
- Creating wireframes, user flows, and interactive prototypes in Figma
- Designing and illustrating the avatar characters and customization assets
- User testing with rehab unit staff
- Developing marketing materials and coding and shipping our promotional website
- Contributing to business strategy, LLC filing, and pitch deck development
Research & Problem Validation
As one of the lead designers, I owned the end-to-end design process from initial concept to development handoff. Working directly with Riley Hospital coordinators, I conducted ongoing user research to understand both patient needs and staff pain points.
- Therapists needed task management to take less than 30 seconds per patient
- Staff wanted to customize tasks based on individual patient needs
- Any solution had to fit into workflows without being disruptive
- HIPAA compliance was essential for adoption
Design Process
Designing the Kids' App
The core mechanic centers around having the young patients select acharacter companion or avatar and a virtual space which they can customize by earning points and gems through completing therapy tasks. Emma and I designed the interface to be:
Intuitive & Joyful
Large, colorful buttons and clear visual hierarchy make navigation simple even for younger children or those with motor difficulties. Reward animations and progress indicators provide constant positive reinforcement.
Progress Over Competion
Instead of competitive ranking systems, the experience emphasizes personal progress and self-paced goals. Patients earn rewards by completing therapist-assigned tasks and tracking their own improvements, like increased distance or time spent moving around the unit’s “track” (a circular walkway the kids use for exercise) allowing motivation to scale naturally across different abilities and recovery stages.
Inspiration & Creation
For design inspiration, we looked to successful engagement products like Tamagotchis and Neopets, which featured virtual pets that created an emotional investment through care and customization. We hypothesized that giving children a digital companion they could customize through completing their therapy tasks would transform rehabilitation from a chore into a rewarding experience.
For design inspiration, we looked to successful engagement products like Tamagotchis and Neopets, which featured virtual pets that created an emotional investment through care and customization. We hypothesized that giving children a digital companion they could customize through completing their therapy tasks would transform rehabilitation from a chore into a rewarding experience.
Key Design Challenges
Wide Age Range: Designing for patients ages 5-18 meant balancing childlike appeal with elements that wouldn’t feel “babyish” to teenagers
Physical Limitations: Many patients have motor skill challenges, requiring larger touch targets and simplified gestures
Emotional Sensitivity: Avoiding mechanics that could trigger frustration or shame when patients struggle with difficult rehabilitation tasks
Sustained Engagement: Creating a reward system compelling enough to motivate patients through weeks or months of repetitive therapy
Designing the Therapist Portal
Unlike the kids’ app, the therapist portal is used in fast-paced clinical environments where interruptions are constant and time is limited. Therapists often access the system between patients or during brief moments at a workstation, making speed, clarity, and error prevention critical. The portal was designed to support rapid task creation and patient monitoring without adding cognitive load or disrupting existing workflows.
Design Considerations
Dashboard Overviews: A clean. data-focused interface lets staff monitor multiple patients at once, with color-coded status indicators for quick scanning
Minimal Clicks: Every interaction was scrutinized to eliminate unnecessary steps. The goal was to make Bluum feel like it saves time rather than adds work.
Unpredictable Workflows: Patient schedules and therapy needs change day to day, requiring a system flexible enough to adapt without forcing staff to base their schedule around the app
Key Design Challenges
Time Constraints: Therapists have seconds, not minutes, every interaction needed to be lightning-fast without sacrificing accuracy
Clear Information: Displaying patient activity, task status, and alerts for multiple patients without being visually overwhelming
Customization vs Simplicity: Allowing flexible task creation while keeping the interface simple enough that any staff member could use it without training
Unpredictable Workflows: Patient schedules and therapy needs change day to day, requiring a system flexible enough to adapt without forcing staff to base their schedule around the app
Outcomes & Impact
From Concept to Prototype
Led the project from initial wireframes to a working Laravel & React Native prototype being prepared for staff testing at Riley Hospital.
Team Leadership
Managed and mentored a team of 3 student developers, coordinating across design and development workflows.
Business Development
Beyond design, I contributed to filing LLC paperwork, creating pitch materials, and developing the project website from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Real-World Testing
Beyond design, I contributed to filing LLC paperwork, creating pitch materials, and developing the project website from scratch using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Current State
Bluum is currently in a proof-of-concept stage, demonstrating core functionality between the kids’ app and therapist portal.
In 2025, we reconnected with our capstone professor and assembled a team of student developers to build a proof of concept based on the designs Emma and I had created. The current prototype demonstrates cross-functionality between the kids’ app and therapist portal, showing how task assignment and completion tracking work in real time.
We’re currently seeking funding to develop a more polished prototype suitable for pilot testing in the rehab unit. Additional resources would allow us to expand the avatar customization library, implement new engagement features, and conduct more extensive user testing with both patients and staff before a formal launch.
Reflections & Things Learned
The Complexities of Designing for Healthcare
The project taught me how to design for two very different user groups at once while keeping both experiences cohesive. Working with healthcare professionals showed me the complexity of designing within real-world constraints like HIPAA and adapting to existing workflows.
Designing with Developers in Mind
The collaboration with developers was invaluable. I learned to think in components and systems, to document my designs more thoroughly, and to be flexible when technical realities required design adjustments. These conversations made me a better designer who understands not just what users need, but what’s actually buildable.
Resource Constraints Shaped Creative Decisions
Working as a UI designer, illustrator, and asset creator heavily limited how much content I could produce. The avatar library is currently limited to three characters, far fewer than we’d ideally offer. In a perfect scenario, we’d have a dedicated team of illustrators focused solely on creating diverse avatars and customization options. Securing funding is our path to making this a reality, but this constraint taught me how to prioritize ruthlessly and design systems that could scale once resources became available.
Tools
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, React
